Malaysia top court rebuffs bid to delay ex-PM’s final appeal

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s top court has refused to allow ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak’s new lawyer to withdraw from his graft case linked to the looting of the 1MDB state fund, preventing a possible delay in his final appeal. It was another blow for Najib after the Federal Court on Tuesday rejected his bid to quash his conviction and 12-year prison sentence by alleging judicial bias. The court also dismissed attempts by Najib’s new defense team, appointed just weeks earlier, to postpone the appeal by three months and ordered hearings to begin Thursday. 1MDB was a development fund Najib set up shortly after taking power in 2009. Investigators allege at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates.